ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) Short Interest Up 70.7% in December

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,928,345 shares, a growth of 70.7% from the November 30th total of 1,715,465 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,504,272 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,504,272 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 3.1% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in ArcelorMittal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in ArcelorMittal by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,359 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ArcelorMittal by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in ArcelorMittal by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. 9.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “cautious” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered shares of ArcelorMittal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.98.

ArcelorMittal Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE MT traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.31. 1,089,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,551. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.61. ArcelorMittal has a 12 month low of $21.59 and a 12 month high of $46.60.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $15.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.88 billion. ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 4.94%. ArcelorMittal’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is a multinational steel manufacturing company formed in 2006 through the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the company is one of the world’s largest producers of steel and operates an integrated value chain that spans raw material extraction, steelmaking, processing and distribution. Its product portfolio includes flat and long carbon steel products, coated and specialty steels, tubular products and value-added solutions tailored for sectors such as automotive, construction, household appliances, energy and packaging.

ArcelorMittal’s operations are global in scope, with production facilities, distribution networks and commercial activities across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States.